Cataclysm
by until chicago
Summary: StoneClan, MistClan, DawnClan and DuskClan have lived in peace for some time. But when the medicine cats receive an omen of terror and bloodshed...there's a chance their entire lifestyles will be destroyed. But by what?
1. Prologue: StarClan's Fear

**ALLEGIANCES**

**StoneClan**

_LEADER:_

Scarredstar - brown tabby tom with a missing left eye and a mangled face

_APPRENTICE – _Oceanpaw

_DEPUTY:_

Autumnfall – unusually spotted silver she-cat with beautiful amber-gold eyes

_APPRENTICE - _Swiftpaw

_MEDICINE CAT:_

Hawktalon – skinny brown tabby tom with sharp yellow eyes

_APPRENTICE_ - Robinpaw

_WARRIORS:_

Mistfur - light grey she-cat with darker flecks and blue eyes

Shadowclaw - black tom with green eyes and a white chest patch

Thistletail - dark grey tabby tom with amber eyes

Firetail - flame-coloured she-cat with yellow eyes

_APPRENTICE_ - Windpaw

Silverwind - silver tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Blacklegs - black tom with white socks and blue eyes

_APPRENTICE _- Rapidpaw

Lizardtail - older, dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

Morningsky - golden tabby she-cat with bright blue eyes

Thinclaw - black and white tom with blue eyes

Fallowstorm - ginger she-cat with green eyes

Ashpelt - black tom with yellow eyes

Snowfall - longhaired white tom with hazel eyes

Braveheart - black and white tom with yellow eyes

_APPRENTICE_ - Redpaw

Wolftooth - muscular, sandy tom with blue eyes

Strickenflame – large golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Dapplewind - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Creamflower - cream tabby and white she-cat with blue eyes

Briarfang - mottled brown tabby tom with a white chest and green eyes

Sweetfur – small brown she-cat with yellow eyes

_APPRENTICES:_

Robinpaw - black she-cat with green eyes, white hindpaws, and a white tail-tip

Rapidpaw – tiny, energetic grey tom with darker points and green eyes

Swiftpaw - small, light brown tabby tom with creamy points and chestnut eyes

Redpaw - reddish tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Windpaw - light grey tom with green eyes

Oceanpaw - massive orange tabby tom with blue eyes

_QUEENS:_

Littlewhisker – small calico she-cat with green eyes _(mother of Strickenflame's kits)_

Fawnkit – tiny, unusually calico tom with green eyes

Gingerkit – grey tabby she-cat with ginger cheek patches and green eyes

Flamekit – longhaired ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

Ravenkit – grey-black she-cat with blue eyes

_ELDERS:_

Ashwhisker - dark grey tabby tom with amber eyes

**DuskClan**

_LEADER:_

Swallowstar – blue-black she-cat with a white chest and green eyes

_APPRENTICE_ – Finchpaw

_DEPUTY:_

Dogfang – flat-faced brown tom with yellow eyes

_MEDICINE CAT:_

Icefur – small white she-cat with blue eyes

_APPRENTICE_ – Longpaw

_WARRIORS:_

Milkpelt – huge cream-coloured she-cat with yellow eyes

_APPRENTICE – _Owlpaw

Darktail – grey tabby tom

Sunear – tortoiseshell tom with distinctive orange ears

Ashwing – silver she-cat

Mallowheart – tabby-and-white she-cat

Shellclaw – white tom

Birdfeather – white she-cat with blue eyes

Swiftclaw – longhaired dark grey tom with green eyes

Lilyblossom - golden tabby she-cat  
><span>Mudpelt<span> - mottled brown tom  
><span>Fogtail<span> - black tabby tom  
><span>Mottledfeather<span> - dappled brown she-cat  
><span>Silverwhisker<span> - silver tabby she-cat

Tornclaws - black tom with long fur and several missing claws

_APPRENTICES:_

Longpaw – brown tabby tom with long white legs

Owlpaw – longhaired white she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

Finchpaw – light grey tom with tawny stripes

_QUEENS:_

Leafwhisker – sleek yellow tabby she-cat _(mother of Tornclaws's kits)_

Mothkit - soft grey-brown tabby she-cat

Thunderkit - massive black tom with yellow eyes

Dovekit - longhaired ginger she-cat

**MistClan**

_LEADER:_

Reedstar – brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

_DEPUTY:_

Russetfeather – longhaired ruddy she-cat with green eyes

_MEDICINE CAT:_

Softpelt – silver tabby tom with amber eyes

_APPRENTICE_ – Wishpaw

_WARRIORS:_

Blueclaw - dark grey tom  
><span>Silverwind<span> - silver tabby she-cat with yellow eyes  
><span>Whitefur<span> - white tom with blue eyes  
><span>Nightsong<span> - orange-and-white tabby she-cat with golden brown eyes  
><span>Swiftstrike<span> – dark brown tom with yellow eyes  
><span>Sandtail<span> - pale ginger tom with yellow eyes

Lionmane – brown tom with a thick ruff

_APPRENTICES:_

Wishpaw – slender grey-and-white tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**DawnClan**

_LEADER:_

Dewstar – longhaired white tom with yellow eyes

_DEPUTY:_

Blacknose – black and white tom

_MEDICINE CAT:_

Fadedheart – off-white she-cat with dim blue eyes

_WARRIORS:_

Lushfur – thick-furred light brown she-cat  
><span>Blueshine<span> - grey she-cat with blue eyes  
><span>Leopardtail<span> - yellow tabby tom  
><span>Whiteclaw<span> - white tom  
><span>Longtalon<span> - ginger-and-white tom  
><span>Daisystem<span> - orange and white tabby she-cat  
><span>Sunear<span> - tortoiseshell she-cat with distinctive orange ears  
><em>APPRENTICE <em>- Cloudpaw

Shinesong - creamy she-cat

_APPRENTICES:_

Cloudpaw – brown and white she-cat

**PROLOGUE**

It was right at that time, the moment between the night and the sunrise, when the sky was pale grey but not yet streaked with dawn's warm glow. The brightening light that came from no object but merely glowed from the sky itself set upon a grassy hill, where a lone figure sat, contemplative. He was lean, with well-muscled shoulders and strong paws. His body was draped with a thick dappled tortoiseshell pelt, and his eyes gleamed a sky blue. He looked pristine, a picture of untouched youth, but for a thick wound across his throat, healed and bare of any fur.

He sat alone for some time, enough for the sun to begin touching the horizon with pale pink before another figure materialized out of the mist. She was beautiful, stunningly so, with fur like sunlight and eyes the colour of newly bloomed violets. She joined the tom at the crest of the hill, looking over the endless ground. They sat in silence for some time before the tom finally spoke.

"How is it that the sun seems so much closer in StarClan?"

The she-cat cast him a gentle look. "You are asking questions that may never have answers, Mottledfoot."

Mottledfoot purred a quiet laugh, twitching his tail. "True, Whispersong. But I still feel as though I need to ask them."

They sat in silence for another moment before Mottledfoot's blue gaze clouded with worry.

"How will we be able to tell them that the world as they know it may very well end soon?"

"I don't know," Whispersong admitted, meeting his gaze with anxious eyes, "but I know that all we can do is send the sign and trust them to know how to decipher it."

"And if they don't?" Mottledfoot challenged the she-cat, though the anger and helplessness welling inside him was not directed towards her. He watched the dawn's light illuminate her delicate, slender face, and felt a pang of times long gone.

"Then there is nothing we can do."

She sounded so resigned to the fate of the cats they watched over that it raised the fur along Mottledfoot's spine, but he couldn't pretend that it was her choice to feel so. They could help, but only so far. It was a truth every StarClan cat had to accept.

"What is to happen will happen," Whispersong mewed in a soft voice as the sun rose above their heads, "regardless of what we do. The fate of the Clans is in their own paws."


	2. Chapter 1: Life Goes On

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Come along now, kits."

Ravenkit blinked slowly at the entrance of the nursery, her whiskers quivering with interest. The sun was gleaming over the StoneClan camp, illuminating the rock piles, throwing the crevices into shadow. From the caves that they made, cats emerged, blinking into the morning light. To Ravenkit, there was nothing else in the world but this camp, vast as the ocean to her wide kit eyes, and the cats that weaved about it were the only creatures in existence.

A soft pelt brushed against her dark grey one, mostly white but for the splashes of tawny and black over the cat's head and tail. Her mother, Littlewhisker, dipped her head to nudge Ravenkit towards the entrance.

"Go play with your siblings, Ravenkit," she mewed, "Rapidpaw needs to clean the nursery."

Ravenkit looked up and for the first time saw the grey fur of the apprentice where he stood outside. She blinked and scrambled out into the sun.

Nearby, she saw her brothers, Fawnkit and Flamekit, batting at each other with tiny pink paws. Flamekit yowled and leapt onto the tiny calico tom, biting at his ear.

"Take that, you ugly fox!"

"You're supposed to be the fox this time!" Fawnkit yowled, his mouth full of dirt and orange fur. He beat uselessly at his brother with his hindpaws. "Geddoff!"

Ravenkit watched them with interest before turning to her sister. Gingerkit, a silvery grey tabby but for the patches of ginger fur over her cheeks, blinked at her with amusement, but soon went to join the two wrestling toms, leaving Ravenkit sitting alone in the dirt outside the nursery.

Ravenkit didn't mind. She wasn't too interested in play-fighting, anyway. She glanced about, blue eyes fixing upon a den from which sweet scents wafted – the medicine cat's den, Littlewhisker told her once. Sitting outside the entrance was a thin, tall brown tabby, whose yellow eyes burned like fire whenever he fixed her with a stare. Hawktalon was his name, she knew; as a medicine cat he was very important to the Clan, but he was still slightly frightening. His apprentice, a black she-cat named Robinpaw, sat nearby. She was a lot less terrifying, and often came to visit Ravenkit and her siblings in the nursery.

She was just about to walk over to her when a lithe grey-brown tabby figure strode past her with precise steps. She looked up and caught sight of the pale, thick scars crossing the tom's perpetually closed left eye and over his muzzle. The first time she saw him it'd been terrifying: his mangled face was a far cry from her father Strickenflame's, who'd been the only adult tom she knew at the time. But she knew him now. He was Scarredstar, leader of StoneClan, and Littlewhisker's brother. Despite his fierce appearance, he was extremely kind, and she rather liked him when he had time to humour her.

Right now he was busy speaking with a handsome black and white tom. She strained her ears to listen, curious despite Littlewhisker's many scoldings about eavesdropping.

" - says DawnClan's scent has been coming onto the border more often than patrolling would call for, but it's not a major concern yet."

"I see." Scarredstar twitched his whiskers. There's a falter in his voice when he spoke again, one Ravenkit found curious. "We'll keep an eye on it in case they decide to do something foolish. Thank you for the update, Braveheart."

Braveheart dipped his head and trotted off towards the entrance to the camp. Before he reached it, however, a creamy brown she-cat burst through, her blue eyes wild with terror.

"DuskClan! Over the border, they attacked the patrol!"

Scarredstar leapt into motion. "Braveheart. Get Shadowclaw, Silverwind, Thistletail, and Wolftooth." As the black and white tom raced to the warriors' den, Scarredstar beckoned the panicked she-cat with his tail.

"Go to Hawktalon's den, Creamflower."

"I have to help them! My kits!" she wailed. A flash of concern crossed Scarredstar's face, but he beckoned Wolftooth, a massive, muscular blonde-coloured tom, to herd her towards Hawktalon's den. Braveheart returned to his side with the warriors, Wolftooth soon on his heels, and without another word, they left the camp at a run.

Ravenkit blinked after them, but before she could do anything else Littlewhisker raced over and picked her up by her scruff.

"I can walk," Ravenkit whined, but Littlewhisker ignored her. With Ravenkit dangling from her jaws, she darted back to the nursery and set her in the nest with her brothers and sister, curling around them and pulling them close with her tail.

"What's going on?" Gingerkit meowed.

"DuskClan is causing some trouble," Littlewhisker responded, but she sounded distant. Her green gaze was fixed on the entrance to the nursery.

Fawnkit reached out and batted at the side of Flamekit's head. "Hah! Take that, DuskClan warrior."

It felt as though they'd crouched there in the dim of the nursery for moons when a commotion filled the camp. Braveheart was racing towards the medicine cat den, yowling for Hawktalon, his black and white pelt streaked with dark red. Snowfall, the newest StoneClan warrior, followed him slowly, tail dragging the ground, soaking wet and shaking with crystalline drops of water dripping from his pure white fur. The remaining warriors herded into the camp in a cluster, Scarredstar at the head; they were fussing over something Ravenkit couldn't see.

Creamflower burst from the medicine cat den, followed closely by Hawktalon and Robinpaw. "My kits," she yowled. "Where are my kits!"

"Mom," Snowfall whispered. His voice was unnaturally hoarse. The creamy she-cat raced to his side, licking between his ears in a frantic manner.

"Where's your brother?" she asked. Even from across the camp Ravenkit could see the agony in the she-cat's blue eyes. "Where's Swiftpaw?"

"Gimme some room," Hawktalon snapped as he pressed through the group of warriors. "Can' do my job with y'idiots in the way."

The cats moved back, and something stilled in Ravenkit's chest. She felt Littlewhisker stiffen behind her and pull her closer.

A thin, pale brown figure lay on the ground, its fur so torn and bloodied that it was nearly unrecognizable. From a distance Ravenkit could make out the silhouette of its torn ears, the curve of its tail: only that distinguished the lump of ripped fur as a cat. It lifted its head and gave a weak yowl, every breath of agony it must be feeling resonating in its cry: one that chilled Ravenkit's fur and sent her hackles on end. Creamflower took one look at the mass of fur and let out a horrible wail.

"Swiftpaw!"

She moved to rush to his side but Briarfang, her brown tabby mate, intercepted her. He murmured something Ravenkit couldn't hear, and herded the traumatized she-cat away.

Hawktalon moved Swiftpaw into his den with great care, Snowfall following with dragging paws. Robinpaw was alight in a flurry of motion, examining Braveheart and the other injured warriors before returning to the medicine cat den. Ravenkit felt oddly numb, unsure of what to think in this flurry of activity, and didn't even blink when Littlewhisker slipped out of the nursery and went off after Creamflower and Briarfang. Her siblings peered around her shoulders.

Through the cluster of cats shouldered a familiar, massive ginger tabby tom. "Strickenflame!" Ravenkit mewed, and was suddenly aware of how small and soft her voice was compared to the murmurs of the milling warriors. It served its purpose, however: Strickenflame walked over to them, sitting just outside of the entrance.

"Strickenflame!" Gingerkit yowled and scrambled over her siblings, nuzzling into the long, pale fur of his belly. He licked her between the ears.

"What's happening?" Ravenkit asked her father. "Why did Swiftpaw look like that?"

Strickenflame's amber gaze clouded. "A DuskClan patrol attacked him."

"Just him?" Littlewhisker had returned; she slipped past her mate and settled within the nursery, effectively clustering the kits between their parents.

"Yes," he responded, and his voice was grim. He lowered his voice, but Ravenkit flicked an ear and managed to hold onto the conversation. "It was just Snowfall, Autumnfall and Swiftpaw. Milkpelt caught Snowfall in the water and tried to drown him, and the other warriors threatened to kill Autumnfall if she attempted to stop her or run back to camp."

"So Swiftpaw tried to save him?" Littlewhisker asked, green eyes wide. "How many of them were there?"

"Three warriors, Milkpelt, and her apprentice. They all attacked him at once."

"Great StarClan," she breathed. "He's so small. Just fighting against Milkpelt would have been too much, she's huge..."

"Cowards," Strickenflame growled, and for the first time Ravenkit saw a flash of rage in her even-tempered father's eyes. "If Creamflower hadn't been on the hunting patrol with them and broke off from the group...I'm fairly certain we'd have two dead cats on our paws. Scarredstar nearly tore their ears off, he was so angry."

"He should have."

Strickenflame opened his mouth to respond but Flamekit abruptly grabbed their attention, returning to his sparring with Fawnkit from earlier. He swatted his calico-pelted littermate with a small paw before leaping onto him, pinning him to the floor of the nursery.

"Take that, you ugly badger!"

"Why am I always the enemy?" Fawnkit groaned, scrambling from under his brother and shaking leaves and moss from his dappled fur.

"Easy, kits," Strickenflame scolded, his tone fond. "StoneClan cats stick together, you know. That's how we're the best fighters of all the Clans."

Fawnkit and Flamekit shared a brief, contemplative glance with Gingerkit before all three crouched, tails swishing. Strickenflame's eyes stretched wide in mock horror as the three kits leapt at their father. He let out an exaggerated cry, falling over onto his side.

"I surrender!"

"Stay out of our camp, you big badger!" Fawnkit crowed, standing on Strickenflame's chest. Strickenflame groaned loudly as Gingerkit latched onto one of his huge paws, and Flamekit pummeled his belly with his hindpaws.

Littlewhisker purred with amusement, gathering the kits with her tail. "Alright, little ones. That's enough."

Strickenflame heaved himself to his feet, shaking dust from his thick ginger pelt. "Thank you, Littlewhisker. They nearly defeated me."

"Strickenflame!" Wolftooth called, gruffly, from across the camp. "Care for a hunting patrol?"

"I'm in," the tom responded, before turning and touching noses with his mate and with each of his kits. "Be good." He turned around and padded after Wolftooth, vanishing into the shadow of the rock entrance.

"Can we play outside now?" Fawnkit begged, his wide, round green eyes fixed on his mother. "Please?"

"Well, okay." Littlewhisker released them from her hold, allowing them to flee the dark and tumble into the sun-lit camp. "Just don't bother anyone!"

As Gingerkit, Fawnkit, and Flamekit raced off through the camp, weaving around Blacklegs and Rapidpaw as they returned from a hunting patrol, Ravenkit wandered away from the center of the camp, drawn to the sounds from within the medicine cat den. She crouched, quiet, at the entrance, and listened.

" - from StarClan. I know what I saw."

"Robinpaw, you don't know nothin' about what y'saw, it could have meant anythin'. Or nothin' at all."

"I know it meant something, Hawktalon. It felt like an omen."

"Whaddya know about omens?"

"I don't know...it just felt like one. I can't explain it."

Ravenkit heard a noise like fur brushing across stone. "You wouldn't know an omen if it hit ya in the noggin, Robinpaw." Hawktalon's strange dialect was almost always a mystery; many cats said he learned it from his mentor, a former rogue named Thorntooth. Ravenkit often found herself having to read the way in which he used his words to understand his language.

Hawktalon's sharp tone grew softer, then. "You may be right, kid. But you should wait until we go to the Star-Tree. We must know it's an omen before we frighten the Clan with talk of wars."

Ravenkit stared at the entrance to the den. _Wars?_ _Omens? _She wasn't sure what they meant...if they were just another aspect of Hawktalon's bizarre wordplay or if they meant something else entirely.

A shuffling of paws across dirt. "I'd like to tell Scarredstar about it, anyway."

"Fine, then. M'tellin' you it don't mean nothin'!"

Robinpaw slipped out of the den and nearly tripped over Ravenkit. "Ah!" Ravenkit just barely managed to scramble out of her way. "What are you doing standing out here?"

"What's an omen, Robinpaw?" Ravenkit asked instead, and Robinpaw looked briefly contemplative. Her eyes gleamed the colour of a newleaf sprig, bright in her dark face.

"It's when StarClan sends you a message of what's to come."

Ravenkit blinked at her, attention caught. StarClan told medicine cats about the future? It wasn't the first time the role in the Clan sparked her interest. "But Hawktalon doesn't think it was an omen?"

Robinpaw's eyes narrowed, quizzical. "Shouldn't you be playing with your siblings, Ravenkit?"

"But this is more interesting!"

The black she-cat said nothing, although a light of something Ravenkit didn't recognize flashed in her eyes. She turned back on her path towards Scarredstar's den, her tail thrashing, the white tip streaking the air with each swish. Ravenkit blinked after her, quizzical. She'd never seen Robinpaw so frantic.

A soft moan of pain wafted from the medicine cat den. Ravenkit returned her attention to it, crouching between two considerable-sized rocks where she was hidden but still given a good vantage point to watch.

The interior of the den was rather dim; she could just make out the scraggly brown fur of Hawktalon as he moved about the inside. He began pawing out portions of herbs with steady paws. Further back, the moaning still continued. She could see the lighter tabby fur of the young apprentice Swiftpaw, curled near the wall of the den.

He was rather small and thin for an apprentice, especially compared to Snowfall, who she knew was the same age; the well-built white tom in question had left the medicine cat den and now sat crouched near the warriors' den, his eyes clouded and far away. Still in the dark of the medicine cat den, his brother Swiftpaw looked terrible; clumps of his fur had been torn away, exposing bloodied pale skin, and wounds from many claws scored his sides. She could see a bald, bloody spot where some cat had attempted to bite down on the back of his neck. Claw marks raked across his closed eye reminded her eerily of Scarredstar, though the socket wasn't hollowed in the way Scarredstar's was. Ravenkit felt a surge of compassion for the thin tom. He had to be in so much pain.

_Four warriors attacked him..._

She looked about at her Clanmates, and her gaze fell upon Braveheart where he was picking with care through the fresh-kill pile, claw marks still parting the fur of his shoulders. She tried to imagine four cats of his size descending upon the apprentice, and horror welled up in her throat.

_What cat would ever do that? _Swiftpaw was a sweet cat; she remembered seeing him caring for the elders, and sometimes coming to help clean the nursery. He didn't talk much, but from the way even the grumpiest elder in the Clan, Ashwhisker, greeted him with eagerness and rarely complained in his presence, she assumed him to be a gentle tom. Littlewhisker often spoke fondly of him. The thought of any cat, let alone a Clanbred, Code-trained cat, trying to kill him was horrifying.

Braveheart finally pulled a particularly plump, fresh mouse from the pile, but rather than joining his Clanmates outside the warriors' den, he padded in Ravenkit's direction. Afraid he'd seen her, she crouched down, fur lying flat and body pressed as far into the crevice as she could manage, but he walked past her without a glance in her direction.

_Oh, good, he didn't see me,_ she thought with some relief as she watched the tom slip into Hawktalon's den.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Braveheart greeted. His mew was muffled by the mouse in his jaws.

"Naw," was Hawktalon's distant reply; Ravenkit could hardly see around Braveheart's lithe frame but from what she could tell, he was still picking out herbs from his stores. "S'no problem."

Braveheart slipped further into the den and set the mouse in front of Swiftpaw. "I figure he can't eat yet," he explained, and he sounded unsure for what had to be the first time in all the time Ravenkit's known him, "but when he can..."

"I'm sure he'll 'ppreciate it," Hawktalon said, and his voice held an unusual tone of kindness. Braveheart dipped his head and without another word he slipped out of the den and headed towards the camp entrance.

Ravenkit moved to climb off the rock, slowly backing out of the crevice, when a gently scolding voice sounded behind her.

"You shouldn't be poking around other cats' conversations, Ravenkit."

She turned around. "Scarredstar!"

Scarredstar met her gaze. His face, however mauled, shone with an open friendliness. "You seem to like watching the medicine cats, Ravenkit."

"Yeah." She sat at the edge of the rock, twitching her whiskers happily. She rarely got a chance to speak with him; a leader's duties were boundless. It made the times when she could spend a few moments with him so much more enjoyable. "They're so very interesting! Robinpaw showed me how to sort herbs a few times."

Scarredstar quirked his ear, something she noticed he'd do when an idea was formulating. "More interesting than being a warrior?"

Ravenkit faltered. No one ever asked her that before...at first she wasn't sure what the answer would be, but she found herself responding with surprising certainty.

"Yes, I think so. Being able to heal your Clanmates...it's a noble thing."

"Hmm." Scarredstar glanced towards Hawktalon's den with interest. "You're nearly six moons now, aren't you?"

Ravenkit blinked. Somehow she'd managed to forget, even though her siblings never shut up about it. "As a matter of fact, yes."

Scarredstar looked amused. "It's not often I see a kit not about to jump out of their fur about being an apprentice."

Before Ravenkit could respond, she heard her mother's voice from the other side of the camp.

"Scarredstar!" Littlewhisker darted over, rubbing cheeks with her brother. Ravenkit watched them with a mild fondness; if it weren't for how Littlewhisker met Scarredstar's eyes without balking in the face of his injuries like even some of the senior warriors did, Ravenkit might have learned to be frightened by him. "I knew you'd find her. Was she bothering you?"

"Never," Scarredstar purred.

Ravenkit hopped off the rock, walking over to her mother. "Is the hunting patrol back?"

"Yes, now come along." Littlewhisker herded her with her tail. "Thank you for finding her, Scarredstar."

"Not a problem." Scarredstar was quirking his ear again, his eyes distant for a moment, before he slipped into the medicine cat den. Ravenkit turned tail and followed her mother into the nursery. Strickenflame trotted over, a vole in his jaws; he set it in front of Ravenkit.

"There you are."

"Ooh!" Vole was Ravenkit's favourite; she crouched down to tuck into the rodent. Fawnkit padded over to her, carrying his mouse, and settled at her side.

"Hi, Ravenkit!"

"Hi."

"What's up?" He chewed thoughtfully on his mouse, watching her. The tom was strangely silent; Ravenkit always saw her brother as talkative, excited, and wide-eyed with delight about the world. But now he looked contemplative...nervous, even.

"Not much. What about with you?" Ravenkit looked deep into Fawnkit's golden-green eyes, saw the anxiety there.

"I'm nervous..." the calico admitted. "We're almost six moons...we'll be apprentices. And I'm scared I'll get a bad mentor."

"Why?" Ravenkit peered quizzically at him.

"Littlewhisker said her mentor was very tough on her...since I look so feminine, I might get pushed around by a mean mentor."

"I don't think there's anyone in this Clan that will do that," she pointed out. "And besides. Scarredstar wouldn't put you with a mentor like that."

"I guess not." Fawnkit sounded dubious, but he said nothing more and returned to chewing on his mouse.

It concerned Ravenkit as well, admittedly...as she stared down at her vole, she wondered who her mentor would be. Somehow, the thought of being a warrior was in no way interesting.


	3. Chapter 2: The Gathering

**CHAPTER TWO**

**THE GATHERING**

A moon goes by quickly, as Ravenkit soon realized. In one moon, Hawktalon retired, his duties done with the giving of his apprentice's full name, Robinfeather. Many other apprentices received their warrior names: Rapidpaw, Redpaw, Windpaw and Oceanpaw became Rapidwind, Redfeather, Windfur and Oceanheart. Though he received his name later than his fellows, even Swiftpaw became a full warrior once his wounds healed well enough; he'd looked on shyly as his Clanmates shouted his warrior name, Swiftwing, Snowfall's voice rising above the rest. In retrospect, so much had gone on that the time had passed in a blur. But what frightened the young she-cat more than anything was that it was her turn to rise.

It was sunhigh, the day of the Gathering. Ravenkit and her siblings stood before the gathering group of their Clanmates, wearing expressions varying between excitement and mild terror. Ravenkit could feel Fawnkit shaking next to her.

Scarredstar looked them over, one by one. "These kits have reached their sixth moon, and as according to our traditions, it is time for them to become apprentices." His one-eyed blue gaze rested on Flamekit. "Come forward, Flamekit."

Flamekit stepped forward, the only one of his siblings that looked almost prideful at the face of the ceremony.

"From this day until the day you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Flamepaw." Scarredstar turned his head to look at a black tom with a dash of white across his chest. "Shadowclaw, it is time you received another apprentice. Your training of Snowfall has proved that you are a dedicated mentor, and I trust that you will train Flamepaw well."

"Flamepaw! Flamepaw!" the cats gathered cried as Shadowclaw touched his muzzle to his new apprentice's head. Flamepaw looked thrilled.

"Gingerkit," Scarredstar continued once the cries faded and Flamepaw went to sit beside his new mentor. Gingerkit stepped forward, her steps shaky. "From this day on you will be known as Gingerpaw. Briarfang, your calmness and intelligence will make you a good mentor for Gingerpaw."

"Gingerpaw! Gingerpaw!"

Ravenkit's throat felt dry. She was happy for her siblings, but the closer Scarredstar got to her, the more nervous she became.

"Fawnkit."

Fawnkit jolted as though not expecting his name to be called. Shuddering, he stumbled to stand in front of his leader.

"From this day forth, you will be known as Fawnpaw."

Fawnpaw quaked even more, his eyes going wide with horror as Scarredstar gestured for Wolftooth to come forward. The great sandy tom towered over the tiny calico apprentice, the only cat in the Clan bigger than their own father. He even made Scarredstar look tiny by comparison. But though his appearance was most intimidating, his sharp blue eyes were gentle.

"Wolftooth, your patience and dedication will make you a suitable mentor for Fawnpaw."

Fawnpaw nearly collapsed when Wolftooth pressed his muzzle to his head, but with a swift movement the tom reached out a paw to steady him. The tom's careful attention, even if quiet and almost detached, convinced Ravenkit that he would indeed be a good mentor for Fawnpaw. Her Clanmates cheered for the little tom and his new mentor, and Ravenkit joined in.

And then she realized it was her turn. Ravenkit looked expectantly towards her one-eyed leader, a tremor going down her body, but to her horror Scarredstar was stepping back from the tip of the Highledge.

_Where is he going? It's my turn...what did I do?_

Ravenkit's ears drooped and she looked down, moving to walk back to the nursery. Maybe it was her eavesdropping on Robinfeather and Hawktalon...she wasn't sure why she wasn't becoming an apprentice. But before she could move, murmurs rose in the group of cats behind her as Robinfeather stepped up in Scarredstar's place.

"As you all know," Robinfeather mewed in her sweet voice, "I am only newly the medicine cat. However, I have an opportunity now to take an apprentice that shows genuine interest in the training. I have spoken with Hawktalon and Scarredstar and they agree that I am making a good choice."

Ravenkit felt frozen in place. The assembled cats had gone completely silent.

Robinfeather turned to look at her, her green eyes gleaming. "Are you willing to train in the way of the medicine cat, and continue to learn until I am gone and it will be your turn to serve your Clan?"

"Yes," Ravenkit croaked as she found her voice. _A medicine cat?_ Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Then at the next half-moon, you will travel with me to the Star-Tree to receive approval from StarClan. Until you receive your full name, you will be known as Ravenpaw."

"May StarClan light your path," mewed Scarredstar, looking at Ravenkit with that same strange expression he'd given her after finding her outside the medicine cat den a moon before, one ear quirked to the side. The cheers of her Clan nearly deafened her. Littlewhisker's yowl rose above the rest, her eyes alight with joy, Strickenflame cheering beside her.

Ravenpaw looked around at them slowly, her blue eyes wide with amazement.

_Ravenpaw. I am Ravenpaw...the medicine cat apprentice._

Ravenpaw sat in the medicine cat den with Robinfeather, the quiet and the cool of the rock cave keeping them separated from the noise of the camp. A hole in the roof of the cave let in the sunlight. In natural indentations in the rock walls, herbs were carefully stored, far enough away from the hole in the top of the cave that if it rained, none of the herbs would be soaked. A little nest lay under a wide outcropping in the far wall, big enough for the slender Robinfeather to sleep under. Ravenpaw felt oddly at home in the cave, where the temperature was somehow perfect for her, the scent of herbs soothing, the diluted sounds of the bustling Clan giving her a feel of being distant but not entirely separated. Despite the nervousness filling her at the concept of training, she felt calmed.

"It's only your first day of training," mewed Robinfeather, flicking her white-tipped tail, "so we won't get into too much detail yet. But, we will go over what is expected of you as a medicine cat.

"As a medicine cat, it will be not only your job to care for your Clan. You will also be a medium between this Clan and StarClan. You will interpret messages from our warrior ancestors."

That made Ravenpaw nervous. What if she misread a message? She swallowed, but before she could voice her concern, Robinfeather went on.

"Though as a StoneClan cat your first priority is our Clan, remember that medicine cats also answer to a different code than the warrior code. You are to deny no cat in need if you are able to help them, even if it is a rival Clan cat. A cat's birth Clan should never change the opportunity for help and healing."

"So if a DuskClan cat came here needing help -"

"If Icefur would be unable to treat that cat, it would be our obligation to help," Robinfeather replied.

Ravenpaw looked around at the herbs lining the walls, her whiskers twitching slightly. "I don't know if I'll be able to remember all of these remedies," she confessed. It really did frighten her: what if she forgot a remedy and a cat died because of it? The thought made her shiver.

"It's easier than you think," her mentor soothed. "You have more than just a name to help you remember. The smell of the herb, the look of it, the feel of it, even the taste of it. All of your senses will help you remember the herbs.

"Besides," Robinfeather continued, "I'll help you."

That made Ravenpaw feel better. She glanced out of the cave into the camp to see Fawnpaw clambering back into the camp, Wolftooth leaping up agilely after him. She perked her ears.

"Go ahead," Robinfeather purred, sounding amused. "I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about."

Looking back at the night-coloured she-cat gratefully, Ravenpaw darted out of the cave and met up with her dapple-furred sibling. "Hi, Fawnpaw! How was your first day as an apprentice?"

"Amazing!" Fawnpaw mewed in reply. He jittered in place as though he couldn't stop moving. "Wolftooth showed me the river, and the ravine! He showed me Fox Hollow too, though there haven't been any foxes nesting there in seasons." Then he blinked up at the sky. "Oh, it's nearly sunset! The Gathering is tonight. I hope I get to go."

Ravenpaw nearly replied, "me too," before realizing that as medicine cat apprentice, she would go to every Gathering. The thought filled her with warmth and pride. "I hope you get to go, too," she mewed instead. Fawnpaw rubbed his cheek against hers, before turning to look towards the Highledge.

"Scarredstar's coming out," he said.

Sure enough, Scarredstar was emerging from his den in a crevice beneath the Highledge. He trotted into the center of the camp.

"Braveheart, Morningsky, Firetail, Rapidwind, Swiftwing, Oceanheart, Wolftooth, and Shadowclaw," he called as the sun set behind him, streaking his brown-grey tabby fur with orange. "You are coming to the Gathering, along with Fawnpaw and Flamepaw."

"Great!" cheered Flamepaw as he joined his siblings. He caught sight of Gingerpaw's jealous expression as she peered out of the apprentices' den. "Awh, don't be upset, you'll go next time."

Robinfeather slipped out of the medicine cat den, sleek and silent as a shadow. She trotted to Ravenpaw's side. "Come with me."

As the cats set out after Scarredstar and his deputy Autumnfall, Robinfeather looked to her apprentice. Ravenpaw found it hard to keep Robinfeather's vivid green gaze.

"You will be meeting the other medicine cats and apprentices," she mewed, her whiskers twitching. "We'll most likely get there a bit early, so you'll have time to chat."

"Okay," Ravenpaw replied, before looking ahead at the path they were following. She was nervous about meeting the other Clans; she knew tension would be high, as this would be the first Gathering after the DuskClan patrol attacked Swiftwing. It was likely Scarredstar would bring it up. She wondered what the leader of DuskClan looked like...she often envisioned a massive tom with a ruthless face. It sent a shudder down her spine.

They walked for some time, mist rising from their mouths as they wove between the trees. It wasn't long before they reached a wide path of smoothed dirt - "the Dirtpath," Robinfeather told her – and walked along it. The Dirtpath stretched on several treelengths before turning into a Twoleg bridge, leading across the river and onto an island.

Ravenpaw stared up in awe.

In the dead center of the island was a massive tree, bigger than any tree she'd seen on the way across StoneClan territory. Its branches stretched far into the sky as though it held Silverpelt itself in its lush, extended branches. The sight of it took her breath away.

"The Star-Tree?" she murmured, and Robinfeather nodded.

A large group of cats were already assembled at the base of the Star-Tree, and a massive, pure white cat sat upon one of the lowermost branches of the Star-Tree. As the StoneClan cats merged in with the already-assembled cats, the strangers' scents bathed over Ravenpaw's tongue. They smelled of grass and dust.

"This is DawnClan, Robinfeather told her, herding her away from the main group to skirt around it. "The cat up there is Dewstar, their leader." Robinfeather came to a stop in front of a small she-cat with an almost forlorn expression on her face. Her fur was not quite white, not quite grey, perhaps a soft creamy colour. It was hard to put a name to the faded colour of her fur. Even her eyes were dim in colour, a diluted blue.

"Hello, Fadedheart," Robinfeather mewed in greeting.

"Ah...? Hello, Robinpaw." Fadedheart's voice was distant, and though she was looking right at the black she-cat, she seemed to be staring straight through her. "Where is Hawktalon..?"

"He retired," Robinfeather replied. "My name is Robinfeather now. This is my apprentice, Ravenpaw."

"I see," Fadedheart said, in a voice that seemed to be perpetually confused.

Robinfeather pulled Ravenpaw away. "Fadedheart is DawnClan's medicine cat," she explained quietly, "and she seems a little...off. But she's a brilliant healer, the best any Clan's seen."

Ravenpaw moved to reply, but a group of cats crested the hill beyond them. They crowded in swiftly, smelling of stones and dirt and rotted plants, a strong and nose-wrinkling stench. Four cats separated from the group; two of them, one a ruddy colour and the other light brown tabby, moved to join the deputies and leaders assembled under the Star-Tree. The brown tabby clambered up the trunk to join Scarredstar and Dewstar; Ravenpaw noted the trouble she had climbing up.

"That's Reedstar, leader of MistClan," Robinfeather said, "and her deputy, Russetfeather. And here come Softpelt and Wishpaw."

The other two cats bounded over. The younger one, a grey and white tabby she-cat, looked curiously at Ravenpaw.

"Are you the new medicine cat apprentice?" the she-cat chirped. "I'm Wishpaw!"

"Ravenpaw," she replied, happy to have someone around her age to chat with. "How long have you been training?"

"I was a warrior apprentice for half a moon," Wishpaw mewed, "before Softpelt chose me to join him." She glanced towards the large silver tabby tom. "I've been a medicine cat apprentice for a moon now."

"I've only been an apprentice for a day," Ravenpaw confessed.

"You'll love it!"

Ravenpaw twitched an ear, tuning in to Robinfeather and Softpelt's conversation as a comfortable silence stretched between herself and Wishpaw.

"They're probably embarrassed," Softpelt was saying; his voice was deep and intimidating.

"Well, they can't avoid Scarredstar forever," Robinfeather replied. "DuskClan will have to come back someday."

Ravenpaw startled as a yowl sounded behind her. She turned around to see what had to be DuskClan racing down the hill to join the Clans; as they arrived, the StoneClan cats snarled insults and moved away from them. Again, four cats split off from the main group, skirting the width of the clearing.

One of the cats was a big, flat-faced tom with raging yellow eyes. _DuskClan's leader,_ Ravenpaw thought, sure that her earlier interpretation of him was correct, but instead of climbing the tree he joined the deputies at the base. Instead, a tiny, slender blue-black cat raced up the tree with incredible speed; it perched on a branch above the other cats. Scarredstar cast the new arrival an annoyed glance, but never once opened his mouth.

"Dogfang is still ugly as ever," Wishpaw mewed in a playful tone. Ravenpaw studied the dark brown tabby, twitching her whiskers in amusement. The tom looked like he'd run face-first into a tree. His face seemed bent into a perpetual sneer, eyes squinted and mouth twisted into a frown. He certainly wasn't very attractive, but from the animated conversation he was having with Russetfeather, his appearance didn't seem to inhibit him.

_It shouldn't,_ Ravenpaw thought. She cast her gaze towards Scarredstar, taking note of the long, thick claw marks running over the empty socket of his left eye. _It doesn't bother Scarredstar._

The other two cats from the DuskClan group joined the cluster of medicine cats. One was beautiful, with pure white fur and rich blue eyes. The other was small and tall, brown with oddly long white legs, looking perpetually awkward.

"Hello," the she-cat mewed in a sweet voice, "I'm Icefur. This is my apprentice, Longpaw."

"Hi," Ravenpaw squeaked, feeling a bit awkward speaking to such a lovely she-cat, even though it was clear she was from DuskClan: the tension between her own Clan and DuskClan was still tangible and boiled beneath her own fur. "I'm Ravenpaw."

"Oh?" Icefur tilted her head, not looking at Robinfeather. "Was Robinpaw replaced?"

"She's my apprentice," Robinfeather cut in; she seemed distant from the white cat, and her tone was uncharacteristically sharp. "Hawktalon retired. I'm Robinfeather now."

"Interesting," Icefur replied curtly, and Longpaw met Ravenpaw's eyes. His gaze was sheepish.

"Hi, Ravenpaw," he said.

"Are they always like this?" Ravenpaw whispered to the brown tom, already able to tell he was someone she'd like. Long and thin but with well-muscled shoulders, she noted he was big enough to be a warrior, though he still had his apprentice name. His whiskers twitched in amusement as he glanced at the two medicine cats: they were glaring at each other, ears pinned and jaws clenched.

"Pretty much," he replied.

A yowl from the Star-Tree cut off their conversation, and Ravenpaw turned to watch as the Gathering came into session.

The first to step up was Dewstar, his white fur glinting in the moonlight. He moved with an air of pride and intelligence.

"Prey is running well," he mewed calmly. "We have two new warriors, Blueshine and Whiteclaw."

Cheers of the two new warriors' names rose from the group of cats. Ravenpaw sought out the two warriors: Blueshine's grey fur glowed in the moonlight as she looked shyly at her paws, while Whiteclaw stood with his head high. His proud appearance reminded her of her brother, Flamepaw, and she purred in amusement.

"We also have a new apprentice, Cloudpaw," he continued, looking towards a small brown-and-white she-cat perched next to a tortoiseshell with bright orange ears; after the cheers subsided, he stepped back, allowing Reedstar to move forward. The she-cat was shivering violently as she leaned forward to address the Clans, her weakness visible even from Ravenpaw's vantage point.

"MistClan is thriving," she croaked. Her voice was weak. "Two of our warriors chased a badger from the territory, and we have had no problems since."

"She sounds sick," Ravenpaw mewed to Longpaw. He nodded in agreement.

"It's rumoured she's on her last life. She's one of the oldest cats in any of the Clans."

"Sure seems that way," Ravenpaw agreed, looking at the thin, bony she-cat. Her claws were unsheathed, sinking into the bark of the branch as though she was struggling to keep herself from falling off.

Apparently Longpaw thought the same. "It's a miracle she doesn't fall," he said.

"Shh!" snapped Icefur, tapping her apprentice's shoulder with her tail. The blue-black she-cat had stepped forward to make her report.

"DuskClan is doing very well," she said. "We have three new kits."

Every cat except for those of StoneClan cheered. Ravenpaw could see a MistClanner or two peering quizzically at the stony-faced forest dwellers.

"We've kept our borders clear of any intruders," she continued. Though she didn't look at Scarredstar as she said it, the barbed comment was clearly directed towards StoneClan, and the warriors knew it. Mutters of anger materialized all about them. Ravenpaw could see a few warriors from other Clans looking quite confused, and the DuskClan warriors appearing smugly satisfied.

"How dare she!" snarled Snowfall from where he was sitting nearby. His snowy fur bristled with barely-withheld rage. "I always knew Swallowstar was a foxheart."

"What's she talking about?" Longpaw murmured to Ravenpaw, but before she could reply, Scarredstar caught their attention. When the DuskClan she-cat tried to continue her report, the grey-brown tom interjected smoothly.

"Yes, free of harmless apprentices, I'm sure."

"Excuse me?" Swallowstar snapped, fixing Scarredstar with an angry green stare. _She must be annoyed at being called out,_ Ravenpaw thought. Murmurs broke out in the crowd below.

"Well," he said, in a harmlessly friendly tone, as though merely discussing the weather with a Clanmate, "apparently your Clan is afraid of being overrun by enemy apprentices, since four of your _warriors_ nearly killed one of ours."

Gasps of shock filled the air. "Killed an apprentice?" a nearby DawnClan she-cat gasped in horror, her thick orange-and-white tabby fur spiking. Longpaw stiffened beside Ravenpaw.

"That's horrible," he whispered, his tail swishing, white muzzle raised towards the tree to watch the leaders' responses. Reedstar looked disgusted, scooting further down her branch to get away from the night-dark DuskClan leader. Dewstar's eyes were narrowed mutinously, but not at Swallowstar; he was eying Scarredstar as though he didn't believe what he was saying. Swallowstar was spitting with rage.

"If a cat is on our territory," she snarled, inching towards Scarredstar, "then we have the right to fight them. It's only fair. DuskClan follows the warrior code, even if your weak warriors don't."

"I don't think four warriors against a single apprentice is a fair fight," Scarredstar responded, baring his teeth, "especially since the warrior code says a _true_ warrior doesn't need to kill to win their battles. Apparently your cats weren't taught that part."

"It was a miracle Hawktalon could save him!" cried Robinfeather from where she sat. Her black fur bristled. "He was half-dead by the time our warriors could get him back to camp!"

Scarredstar turned his one-eyed gaze back to Swallowstar. Even Dewstar was glaring at the female leader now. "Your actions don't make you warriors protecting your territory, Swallowstar, they make you as lawless as rogues."

That seemed to do it for the DuskClan leader. In a flash, Swallowstar leapt down from her branch onto Scarredstar's and slashed at his face. He backed away, deflecting her blow, though not offering a strike of his own. Ravenpaw was impressed. Not only was he holding the truce, but he was ensuring that the cats below knew that the display of rage was purely from Swallowstar, not from him. Mutinous growls rippled in the air, and Dogfang and Autumnfall were nose to nose, claws unsheathed. It was DuskClan against StoneClan, and it was clear a bloodthirsty fight was about to break out.

"Stop!" Russetfeather yowled, attracting the attention of the startled cats who weren't fighting and the enraged ones that were; her eyes were fixed on the sky. "The moon!"

Ravenpaw looked up to see that a cloud had covered the moon, casting the clearing into deep shadow. It was as though the sight of the clouds layered the crowd with silence; Scarredstar leapt onto a higher branch of the tree and glared down at the white-chested DuskClan leader as quiet settled below.

"Remember the truce," he snarled, and Swallowstar bristled at him though she neither said nor did anything more.

Scarredstar turned to the calm, yet frosty Gathering to begin his report as though the quarrel had never occurred. "StoneClan is doing well," he said in a serene voice. "We have five new warriors, more than we've ever had before. We welcome Rapidwind, Redfeather, Oceanheart, and Windfur."

Cheers exploded from below, though the DuskClan cats remained mutinously silent.

"Though it took a moon to recover from his terrible injuries - " he cast an angry glare at Swallowstar before continuing " - Swiftwing is doing much better, and was also given his warrior name. He unfortunately is still too sick to make the journey here tonight."

More cheers, many voices full of sympathy, though the DuskClan cats spat with anger. Swallowstar's whiskers twitched in fury, and she turned her head away from the brown-grey tom.

"Hawktalon has also retired to the elder's den. Robinfeather has taken his place as our full medicine cat, and taken an apprentice, Ravenpaw. Her siblings, Fawnpaw, Gingerpaw, and Flamepaw, have also become apprentices."

Ravenpaw felt her ears grow hot as the cries of her name were cast to the sky, followed quickly by those of her siblings. Longpaw cheered for her as well, giving her a cheeky look. Ravenpaw could already tell he'd make a great friend throughout her time as a medicine cat.

But as she sat there, she saw Swallowstar giving her a rather strange look. The DuskClan she-cat's eyes were wide and almost unseeing, staring straight through her. Something twinged in Ravenpaw's gut.

_Why is she looking at me that way...?_

"That went better than I expected," Autumnfall was saying as they headed back across the Twoleg bridge to their territory. DawnClan and StoneClan cats bid their final farewells as they split off to go back to their respective camps; Dewstar and Scarredstar brushed shoulders in goodbye before Dewstar gathered his warriors and left into the flat plains of DawnClan territory, while Scarredstar followed his Clan.

"If Russetfeather hadn't said anything, there would be blood on the ground," mewed Braveheart, glancing back towards the Gatheringplace. Ravenpaw shuddered at the thought.

She stared on ahead as they walked, when she felt a strange twinge in her belly; glancing behind her, she noticed Scarredstar was no longer behind. Ravenpaw frowned, and thought about saying something, but with a quick look at her mentor she fell back too, merging into the undergrowth.

_Where did he go?_ She thought, and twitched her whiskers. Opening her mouth to taste the air, she caught his scent trail...going back towards the Gatheringplace. Ravenpaw burned with curiosity, and followed the trail through the plant life.

Every once in a while she'd lose the trail: it seemed like Scarredstar had been extra careful to keep from being found. Winding around trees and through clumps of plants, Ravenpaw finally reached the river in which the Gathering island was stranded and the Twoleg bridges led across. At the shore, Ravenpaw spotted Scarredstar's sooty pelt, and another blue-black one.

Ravenpaw crouched in a blueberry bush, her body shaking. What was Scarredstar doing at the edge of the river with Swallowstar? Weren't they enemies, especially after the fight at the Gathering? She couldn't understand.

"You know the answer to that question, Swallowstar," Scarredstar was saying. His voice was strained. The white-chested she-cat sank her claws into the gritty earth, glaring at him.

"You're so evasive! Ever since Mottledfoot died you've never given me a straight answer."

"Why should I?" the tom snapped. "You already know everything."

"Don't be that way."

Ravenpaw frowned. What were they arguing about? Who was Mottledfoot? Why were they even speaking in the first place? She'd never felt so bewildered, so full of questions.

"Swallowstar," Scarredstar muttered. "You know who she is. You don't need me to tell you. But you made a promise when you gave her to me, and that was to never see her again. Did you not?"

"But this...she..." Swallowstar stammered, her eyes wide. The small she-cat's voice took on a pleading tone. "She's my -"

"No." Scarredstar turned his back on the she-cat. "Not anymore. That was your choice." He began walking back the way he came, leaving Swallowstar looking agonized and alone. His mauled face looked torn between rage and longing, his one eye narrowed.

Ravenpaw felt her heart turn to stone. Scarredstar was heading right in her direction! She backed out of the bush and crept away, being as quiet as possible until she got back to the Dirtpath, where she broke into a run. She couldn't be caught, she'd be in so much trouble! Her paws pounded the dirt, claws sinking in to provide traction as she raced back into the forest between the Dirtpath and AspenClan camp.

**Who is Mottledfoot? Why were Scarredstar and Swallowstar talking? _Why is Dogfang so dang ugly? _**

**FIND OUT MORE NEXT CHAPTER! :D (well, maybe not about Dogfang. As Gaga says, he was born this way.) reviews and critique are awesome. **


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